Russian-American Company

The Russian-American Company was a state-chartered company that ran Russia’s fur trade and colonial administration in North America. Founded on 8 July 1799 by an imperial decree of Emperor Paul I and often described as Russia’s first joint-stock company, it held a trade monopoly in Russian America with a southern limit of 55° N. It was based first on Kodiak Island and then at New Archangel, today’s Sitka, and it operated until the sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867.[1][2]

Origins and charter

Russian traders began hunting sea otters in the Aleutian Islands in the mid-1700s. The company was formed in 1799 largely from the United American Company, also known as the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, and was Russia’s first joint-stock company. The infobox names Grigory Shelikhov and Nikolai Rezanov as founders. Its headquarters moved from Irkutsk to Saint Petersburg in 1801.[1]

Alexander Baranov

Alexander Baranov served as the first Chief Manager from 9 July 1799 to 11 January 1818. He founded Pavlovskaya on Kodiak Island and, after the Battle of 1804, founded and fortified New Archangel at Sitka. The National Park Service notes that in 1799 he negotiated with the Sitka Tlingit for a small trading post about 7 miles north of present-day Sitka, which the Tlingit destroyed in 1802. Naval officers held the post of Chief Manager after him.[1][2]

New Archangel

New Archangel became the colonial capital in 1808, four years after its founding. It had a shipyard, school, hospital and cathedral, and by the 1850s its economy relied on a shipyard, a fish saltery, sawmills and an ice-export business rather than the fur trade. In 1821 the Sitka Tlingit resettled just outside the stockade.[2]

The sea otter trade

Fur was the company’s main business. Aleut and Alutiiq men were conscripted for three-year terms as sea otter hunters. From 1805 to 1812 Baranov supplied Aleut laborers to ten American ships that gathered over 22,000 pelts in California, and from 1797 to 1821 the company and its predecessor collected furs worth about 16 million rubles, including 72,894 sea otters.[1]

Fort Ross

Fort Ross, built in 1812 in present-day Sonoma County, California, was the company’s southernmost outpost. The company held its California holdings until 1 January 1842.[1]

Decline

Profits slumped from the 1820s as fur-bearing animal populations fell. Expenses were large: in 1808 less than half of roughly 2.3 million rubles in expenses was covered by income. Weak management and overreach also contributed to the decline.[1]

Sale and dissolution

The Russian government decided to sell the territory in 1867, and the United States bought Alaska for $7.2 million, about 2 cents an acre, ending Russia’s 126-year North American enterprise. The company’s Alaska holdings were sold on 18 October 1867 and its commercial interests passed to Hutchinson, Kohl and Company of San Francisco, which renamed itself the Alaska Commercial Company. The Russian-American Company ceased commercial activity in 1881.[1][2]

Legacy

The Russian Orthodox Church, introduced during this period, now has over 80 parishes across Alaska, and St. Michael’s Cathedral in Sitka holds the Divine Liturgy every Sunday. Place names and historic buildings in Sitka also survive from the period.[2]

FAQs

When was the Russian-American Company founded? On 8 July 1799.

Who was its first Chief Manager? Alexander Baranov, 1799 to 1818.

Where was its capital? New Archangel, now Sitka.

What happened in 1867? Alaska was sold to the United States for $7.2 million.

Where was Fort Ross? In present-day Sonoma County, California.

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Russian-American Company
2. National Park Service: The Russians (Sitka National Historical Park)

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 12, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue